


Areala University, a party, and an old crusty shoe

by pureleafteaa



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Friendship/Love, Internalized Homophobia, Light Angst, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27157468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pureleafteaa/pseuds/pureleafteaa
Summary: Basically all the sister warriors go to university together, Beatrice and Ava are roommates, they go to a party, Beatrice may or may not punch someone, and it goes from there! I've never written one of these before, so I'm sorry if it's not that great, but I hope you like it!
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva, Sister Camila/Sister Lilith (Warrior Nun)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 177





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like it so far! I've never really written anything other than school work, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Let me know if you have any suggestions :)
> 
> Also! Follow me on twitter if you want, @pureleafteaa. I mostly post doodles, but I occasionally do some warrior nun animations. I'd love to talk there about warrior nun, this fic, or whatever!

Ava didn’t know what to expect.

She’d never been great at school, she usually barely passed her classes, so going to a prestigious school like Araela University was definitely a new one for her. She knew where her dorm was and the name of her roommate, Beatrice, but that was it. Everything seemed daunting. The halls were huge, with weird church-style architecture, and everywhere she looked there seemed to be a painting featuring chubby winged babies. The religious imagery shouldn’t have been too surprising though. Araela University was a Christian University, one that specialized in social justice work and charity. It was no wonder that they had offered her a scholarship. She had the perfect tragic backstory to fit their charity narrative, “Mom died in a car accident, grew up in a scary orphanage, struggled with school” - yeah, that sounded about right. Ava walked up the big staircase, passed some more flying chubby babies, until she finally stopped in front of her dorm room. She took a deep breath. She was going to have to face whatever smart nerd she was doomed to live with eventually, might as well get it over with now. Ava opened the door and stepped inside.

XXX

The girl who walked in wasn’t exactly the kind of person Beatrice was expecting to see when she enrolled at Areala University. She was wearing a “I’m not saying I’m Batman, but you’ve never seen us in the same room” t-shirt tucked into blue jeans. A yellow scrunchie tied her hair back and she held a tattered duffle bag. The duffle bag seemed too small to hold all her belongings, but that was the only bag she seemed to have and the room had been empty when Beatrice got there. 

“Hi… I’m Ava.” The girl said, timidly reaching out her hand. 

“Beatrice.” She said smiling, grabbing the girl’s hand and giving it a firm shake. The girls stood awkwardly for a moment, sizing each other up. Ava seemed to turn a little pink after their handshake, but Beatrice knew she was probably imagining things. Her roommate turned and started unpacking her stuff. She really only had a few things, mostly just clothes, a laptop, and a pair of track spikes. 

“You run track?” Beatrice asked curiously. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s probably the only reason they let me in here, other than my good ol’ tragic backstory.” Ava’s face flushed red when she realized that she said too much. “Anyway, yeah I run track” She chuckled nervously. 

“That’s cool. I used to do hurdles in high school, but I was never any good at it.” Beatrice said, trying to make conversation with the obviously nervous girl. 

“Hah, you probably just never got over the first _hurdle _to becoming really good.” Ava laughed.__

____

____

Beatrice stared at her for a moment before laughing at Ava’s awful pun. This girl definitely wasn’t like the others here. They smiled at each other before Beatrice realized how close she was to the other girl. She blushed at the realization and started to back away when she noticed how Ava was looking at her, like she was trying to figure her out. 

“What?” Beatrice asked softly, smiling at the other girl. 

“I’m just trying to figure out if you’re more or less christian-scholar-like than the others.”

Beatrice laughed at that. Ava was making her laugh more than she had the past year and it had barely been five minutes. A knock at the door interrupted their moment and Beatrice got up to answer the door. Mary, Lilith, and Camila stood outside. She forgot that they had made dinner plans for tonight.

“Ready?” Mary asked, an amused smile on her face, no doubt finding it funny that Beatrice had forgotten their plans. They all saw her as the responsible one, the sturdy foundation that their group was built on, so it was a little funny when Beatrice became flustered and forgot about plans. 

“Sorry, I got caught up in unpacking and forgot about dinner. Let me just grab my jacket and then we can go.” Beatrice moved to grab her jacket that was hanging neatly in the closet. Her friends looked around before noticing Ava sitting quietly on the bed. Camila was the first to introduce herself.

“Hi! I’m Camila.” She said happily, a bright smile on her face. “You must be Bea’s roommate.” She reached her hand out to Ava.

“Oh yeah, hi. I’m Ava.” Beatrice heard Ava say rather timidly. Despite her joking, Ava didn’t seem all that confident in herself. Maybe introductions made her uncomfortable. Beatrice quickly grabbed her things to spare Ava from Mary and Lilith’s attention, who would no doubt be less welcoming than Camila. 

“Okay guys. Ready?” Beatrice asked her friends, moving all of them towards the door. 

“Wait I-” Lilith started to say before Beatrice cut her off.

“Bye Ava! It was nice to meet you.” And with that Beatrice shut the door and turned to face her friends. They were looking at her strangely.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked.

“You never forget plans.” Camila said with a small smile on her face. 

“And what was that quickly shoving us out of there?” Mary asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

“Yeah, we wanted to say hi to your new roomie.” Lilith added, a smirk forming on her face. 

“I told you,” Beatrice stated matter of factly, “I got caught up in unpacking.” She started walking down the hall, but not before her friends noticed the quiet blush that crept up their friend’s usually stoic face. 

XXX

Ava walked from the track to meet Beatrice, who had offered to walk with her to their dorm after practice. Ava had tried to insist that she didn’t need to wait for her, but Beatrice just waved her hand dismissively and said, 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be finishing up my club work around the same time. It only makes sense for us to walk back together.” 

Ava smiled thinking about it. She and Beatrice had been getting along really well, even if they barely saw each other during the day. Beatrice had countless extracurricular activities to keep her busy, so Ava really only saw her at night in their dorm. Any extra time to spend with Beatrice was more than welcome, so Ava accepted her offer. Now that she was walking to meet Beatrice, exhausted and no doubt smelling awful, Ava started to regret accepting her offer so eagerly. She looked up the stairs to see Beatrice completely engrossed in the book she was reading. Ava couldn’t help but stare. She was beautiful. Beatrice was wearing a simple collared shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun. How did she make such simple clothes look so gorgeous? Ava looked down at herself and cringed at her own appearance. Her shoes were caked in mud, her hair was a mess, and the sweat! Oh man, the sweat. She started to back away slowly. She’d think of an excuse about why she didn’t meet Beatrice. Practice ran late. Yeah, she’d believe that. Before Ava could turn around, Beatrice looked up from her book with that sweet smile that made Ava melt. 

“Hey!” Ava said, voice cracking as if she were a prepubescent boy. She cringed at the greeting, but Beatrice didn’t seem to notice. 

“Hi Ava.” She said as she stood, closing the book in her lap. “Ready?” 

Ava only nodded. She didn’t remember being this nervous around Beatrice, but then again they hadn’t actually been around each other that often. Beatrice looked at the top of Ava’s head, and just as she was about to ask what she was looking at, Beatrice reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear. Ava froze at the contact and was grateful that her face was already red from running. 

“Oh, sorry.” Beatrice started “There was just a strand poking out.” 

“No worries, thanks for getting it.” Ava smiled, still reeling inside from the small touch. Oh man, she needed to get a hold of herself. They started walking towards their dorm, talking about each of their days. Ava was shocked at how easy it was to talk to Beatrice. It was as if she had known her for her whole life. She loved listening to Beatrice talk, that accent was amazing, so she quietly nodded to everything in hopes that she wouldn’t stop talking. Ava must’ve been paying more attention to Beatrice than she thought because she walked straight into a guy and dropped all her stuff. 

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Ava said, dropping to her knees to grab the things that had fallen.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” The boy laughed, kneeling down to help her grab her belongings. They stood up soon after and the boy introduced himself. 

“Hey, I’m Aiden. You’re in my literature class right?” He asked. “Ava… isn’t it?”

“Yeah. That’s me, Ava.” Ava smiled awkwardly. The boy she was talking to was objectively handsome, his smile was nice and his eyes were a brilliant blue. He talked with a sense of confidence. If Ava wasn’t already completely smitten with someone else, this was the kind of guy she might think about going out with. 

“Well, I’m having a party tomorrow night. You should come.” He smiled at her before shooting a quick look at Beatrice. “You can come too, of course.” Beatrice only nodded. 

“Okay, cool. That sounds fun.” Ava said, only now noticing how tense Beatrice was at her side. “We’ll be there!” She promised, grabbing Beatrice’s arm and walking quickly away. They walked in silence for a moment. Ava was afraid to ask what was wrong. She didn’t think she had done anything wrong, other than not paying attention to her surroundings. Beatrice spoke after a moment. 

“So, do you think you’ll go to his party?” Beatrice asked, holding her book to her chest just a little tighter than normal. 

“I guess so. It could be fun.” Ava responded “But you’ll come too right? It’d be fun to get our boogie on.” Ava made a little dance move and nudged Beatrice expectantly. She didn’t laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He asked you to go, Ava.” Beatrice said exasperated. “He only invited me to be polite.” 

“What? No, he invited both of us.” Ava said “Besides I-” 

“You should go Ava, get your boogie on. Like you said, it’ll be fun.” Beatrice turned to her with a faux smile on her face. “Besides I have club work I should do. Speaking of which, I think I forgot something in the clubroom. I’ll meet you back in our dorm later.” 

“Wait Bea-” But before Ava could finish, Beatrice was already gone. 

XXX

Beatrice walked away, frustrated. Who was he to just come up and ask Ava on a date like that? Who does that? She hated guys like him, the confident ones that think they own the world. She wouldn’t let him hurt Ava. She should go to the party and protect her. Better yet, she should tell Ava not to go. They could do something else. 

“Hey, where are you off to, frowny face?” A familiar voice called. Beatrice turned around to see Lilith, an amused look on her face. She was holding her political science textbook and a thermos, probably filled with Camila’s sweet nettle tea. Lilith wouldn’t go a day without drinking it. She said it relaxed her. 

“Back to the clubroom. I think I forgot something.” Beatrice said, reciting the same lie she told Ava. 

“Uh huh” Lilith stared at her in disbelief. “I was heading in that direction anyway, I’ll walk you there.” They walked in silence for a moment before Lilith asked “So, what’s wrong Bea?”

“Nothing.” Beatrice replied, forcing a small smile on her face. 

“Nope, none of that stoic bullshit with me.” Lilith said “Be honest, tell me what’s going on. Is it something to do with your new roommate?” Beatrice looked up at Lilith in surprise, had she been that obvious? What if Ava suspected something? Lilith laughed at Beatrice’s panicked face. “Oh come on, I’ve known you since we were kids. Did you really think that I wouldn’t notice?” That was true. Beatrice had practically known Lilith her whole life, the two had grown up in the same wealthy neighborhood in London together. “And don’t worry, I doubt your roommate knows anything. She’s not bright enough for that.” 

“Hey! She’s plenty smart and, by the way, her name is Ava.” Beatrice defended her. Lilith laughed. 

“I know, I know. I just wanted to see how bad you have it for her.” 

“What?” Beatrice felt that familiar panic rise up in her again, the one that she had always tried to crush. “What do you mean?” 

“Listen, you can pretend what you’ve been pretending your whole life. You’re certainly good at it, but if you ever do want to talk, I’m here.” Lilith smiled at Beatrice. 

Beatrice didn’t know what to say. Lilith had rarely shown this much kindness towards her. When she did it was almost always because something big was about to happen, something that Beatrice was too blind to see coming. The last time it happened was when her parents had shown up on live television, expressing their views on homosexuality. The day before it happened, Lilith had given her a hug and reminded her that she was always there for her. It was like Lilith knew when Beatrice was going to be hurt and she made it her job to quietly protect her. Beatrice did the same for her when she could. They were like sisters. 

“Okay well, we’re here.” Lilith said, gesturing towards the clubroom. “I hope you find what you forgot in there.” She said before walking away. Beatrice didn’t say anything, she knew she didn’t need to. She walked in the clubroom and sat down. She wouldn’t be bothered there.

“It would be wrong.” Beatrice whispered quietly to herself. It’s a sin. Whatever Lilith was insinuating, she’s wrong. She doesn’t like Ava like that. She was just upset because she didn’t want to see Ava get hurt by that jerk. It wasn’t because she liked her. She was normal. She kicked herself for thinking that. Lilith and Camila were dating and they were perfectly normal. They weren’t sinners doomed for hell, they were wonderful people. It was different with herself though. If it were her, it would be wrong. Beatrice’s parents were important people, politicians, she couldn’t let herself drag their name in the mud. She sighed. Why was this so hard? She had avoided these feelings thus far. Why now? Ava was different, she guessed. Ava was… well she was Ava and Beatrice really liked Ava (not like that, of course). Beatrice shook her head. This isn’t a big deal, just hide like normal and nothing bad will happen. Hide, hide, hide. That’s easy enough. Beatrice walked out of the room and tried not to think about what exactly it was that she was hiding from. 

XXX

Ava had just about finished getting ready to go to Aiden’s party. She turned around and smiled at Beatrice. 

“What do you think, Beatrice?” Ava gave a little twirl and smiled at her roommate. “Better than I look after practice huh?” Beatrice looked up from her homework and Ava thought she saw her friend blush as she looked her up and down. Ava’s heart did a somersault at the thought of Beatrice checking her out. Though she knew Beatrice wasn’t actually checking her out, of course, she was just being her friend. 

“You look great.” Beatrice said, smiling. Ava thought she heard a tinge of hurt in Beatrice’s voice and frowned at the thought. 

“Why don’t you come too?” Ava asked, sitting next to Beatrice on her bed. “Please?”

“I have homework, Ava.” Beatrice sighed “Besides, Aiden asked you out. He wasn’t asking us out.” 

“Asked me out?” Ava frowned, “No, he was just inviting us to a party. The two of us. I’m not going out with him.” Beatrice looked up from her homework, a sad look on her face. 

“Okay, but still...” She gestured to the books on her bed “homework.” Ava wanted to reach over and grab Beatrice’s hand, to pull her off the bed and make her get ready, but she knew she shouldn’t. 

“Okay…” Ava said, standing up to leave “I’ll see you after then.”

XXX

Beatrice watched Ava leave, feeling like a sad puppy dog.

“Maybe I should go…” Beatrice thought before shaking her head. Of course she couldn’t go. She had to hide. Going to a party with Ava was the exact opposite of hiding. She just hoped Aiden wouldn’t hurt her. Beatrice heard her phone buzz and saw a text from Camila. 

“Why aren’t you going with her????” Just as Beatrice was about to respond, her door burst open. Mary, Lilith, and Camila walked in, each of them with a mischievous smile on their face. 

“Camila, why did you text me if you were just going to barge in here anyways?” Beatrice asked. Camila shrugged.

“For a heroic entrance, of course.” Camila replied, a grin forming on her face. Beatrice’s eyes narrowed. 

“Heroic?” She looked at each of her friends. “What exactly are you doing here?”

“Oh, you’re going to love this.” Mary said, pulling a dress from behind her back.

“Oh no, guys…” Beatrice started to protest, but within a second her friends were on her, pulling her out of the bed and thrusting clothes and makeup into her hand. 

XXX

Beatrice took a deep breath. She was never much for parties. She avoided them all throughout highschool and would’ve been content to avoid them throughout college too, but this was Ava and Beatrice had a bad feeling about this Aiden guy. She was only going to make sure he didn’t try anything with Ava, and because her friends would kill her if she didn't, but not for any other reason. Beatrice took another deep breath and opened the door.

The music was loud and people were milling about, talking and dancing. Beatrice looked for Ava, pushing her way past people until she saw her. She gasped. Beatrice knew what Ava was wearing, she had seen her get ready, but somehow she looked all the more beautiful now. She was dancing as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Beatrice felt her face turn red and she was grateful that the lights were down low. She walked towards Ava, a wide smile on her face, and tapped her on the shoulder. 

XXX

Ava turned to see Beatrice standing in front of her. Her breath hitched as she looked at the girl in front of her. Beatrice was beautiful. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and she wore a simple black dress. Ava had never seen the other girl’s hair down. She wanted more than anything to reach out and brush it behind her ear, like Beatrice had done to her before. 

“Ava?’ Beatrice asked, shocking Ava out of her silence “Are you okay?”

“Yeah!” Ava shouted over the music “I’m okay!” She was more than okay, she was ecstatic. Beatrice had come, she actually came. Ava didn’t waste any time messing around. Beatrice was there and she sure as hell wasn’t going to pass up the chance to dance with her. 

“May I have this dance?” Ava smiled, bowing goofily. Beatrice laughed and reached her hand out to take Ava’s. 

“Of course.” 

XXX

Beatrice had stopped dancing with Ava, much to the other girls' protest, to find her some water. It was clear that Ava had been drinking and some water would be good for her. Beatrice wandered around, pushing past people, and looking over their shoulders. They had to have water somewhere at this party. She managed to find the kitchen and grabbed a spare glass, filling it up. She smiled triumphantly and walked back to where she had left Ava. The smile left her face as fast as it came. Aiden stood too close to Ava, his hands kept wandering to her hips. She pushed him back, shaking her head, but Aiden didn’t stop. He pulled her close and held her against his body. Ava’s eyes found Beatrice’s and that was all Beatrice needed to know. She ran up to them and shoved him off, positioning herself between the two of them. 

“Don’t touch her.” She warned. Ava had never seen Beatrice this angry. 

“Hey!” Aiden shouted “What’s your deal?” He looked Beatrice up and down before recognition swept across his face. “Oh, you’re that girl from the other day.” He looked from Ava to Beatrice and a smirk formed on his face. “Don’t tell me…” He pointed at Beatrice “You’re a dyke aren’t you?” Beatrice tensed, her hands balled into fists at her side. 

“Don’t talk to her that way!” Ava yelled, emerging from behind Beatrice. Aiden held up his hands as if in surrender. 

“Come on, Ava.” Beatrice said, tugging at Ava’s wrist. “Let’s go.” The two of them turned to leave. 

“Whatever dyke. Your girl wasn’t even that hot.” Aiden’s voice travelled over the music. Beatrice stopped. She let go of Ava’s wrist and marched back to him. Before another word could come out of his mouth, Beatrice punched him with all her strength. He stumbled back into someone else and cried out, clutching his bloody nose. 

“Woah. Beatrice is a badass!” Ava cheered. Beatrice smiled at that. As they were leaving they heard Aiden shout after them. 

“You’re gonna regret that bitch!” Beatrice only scoffed. She had a feeling that she could handle him.

XXX

Beatrice and Ava practically ran to their dorm, laughing the whole way. Once inside, Ava reenacted what she called “Beatrice’s surprising act of badassery,” waving her arms and saying “Bam! Take that jerk-face!” 

“I’m not sure I was quite that cool or enthusiastic.” Beatrice smiled, laughing a little at how Ava apparently saw her. 

“Oh trust me, you were that cool.” Ava said, sitting down next to Beatrice on her bed. Beatrice stiffened at the close contact. Hide, hide, hide. She cleared her throat and moved to stand up before Ava grabbed her wrist.

“Bea! Your hand is bloody.” Ava said, a look of concern plastered on her face. Beatrice looked down at her hand. 

“Oh” Beatrice started to say “I don’t think that’s actually my blood.” Ava stared at her blankly for a moment and Beatrice, worried that she had freaked her out, started to say 

“But it-”

“HOLY SHIT” Ava shouted, jumping off the bed to stand next to Beatrice “THAT’S SO COOL” Beatrice burst out laughing, this girl really was something else. “I mean it Bea, that’s awesome. You really showed him.” Beatrice looked at the other girl curiously, this was the first night Ava had called her Bea, and now she had said it twice. Beatrice shook her head. She won’t allow herself to think about what that might mean. She walked over to the sink to wash the blood off her hand and Ava followed her. She leaned against the wall and watched Beatrice silently for a moment before saying “Thank you.” Beatrice turned off the faucet and looked up at Ava, she suddenly looked so small, a stark contrast to the energy she had just a moment before. 

“Of course.” Beatrice said before adding “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She said it with so much conviction that it surprised even herself. What was she doing? Beatrice looked down quickly. Hide, she reminded herself. Hide, hide, hide. Then Ava’s voice cracked and she realized that the other girl was crying. Beatrice whipped her head around to look at Ava. 

“At the party” Ava said quietly, in between sniffles “You didn’t leave me.”

“Of course I didn’t. I’ll never leave you.” Beatrice said, staring at the Ava's eyes and hoping, really hoping, that Ava knew that she was serious. She hated seeing her so fragile like this. 

“It was so scary.” Ava’s hands started shaking “He was so scary and big and he wouldn’t stop and I didn’t know what to do.” Suddenly Ava leaned into Beatrice, crying in the crook of her neck. Beatrice’s hands hovered for a moment, unsure of what to do, before settling on Ava’s back. She held her tight, hushing her gently. 

“Hey… It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Beatrice whispered softly. Everything in Beatrice told her to back away, to stop holding her, and to run as far away as she could, but she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to. Beatrice suddenly realized that she meant it when she told Ava that she would never leave her. She held Ava tighter. Maybe it was finally time to stop hiding. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava and Beatrice try to figure out their feelings and Ava talks to a shoe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry this is a short chapter, school has been killing me. Anyway, I hope you all like it!

It was 2am and Beatrice couldn't fall asleep. She felt stupid. Her plan to stop hiding seemed so easy in the moment, but now as she lay awake at night she realized something that should've been obvious.

Beatrice had no idea how _not _to hide.__

__She had been acting this way since, well, forever. Her parents had made it clear that Beatrice was not to be herself, not if being herself meant being a lesbian. She hadn’t put up much of a fight. What was she supposed to do? She was young and they were her parents. It’s not like she could’ve done anything. There was only one option and it was hard at first._ _

__Beatrice was never naturally quiet. She liked to laugh. In school, she was never the class clown, but she certainly wasn’t the shy one in the corner. That was Lilith. Maybe that’s why the two had gotten along so well. Beatrice talked and Lilith kept them focused, the complete opposite of their roles now. But then she was twelve and things started to change. At twelve, Beatrice started to get nervous around her peers. That wouldn’t have been a problem if she was nervous around the boys in her class, but she couldn’t care less about them. She was more worried about what Teresa would think of her. She found herself stumbling over her words more often. Her behavior didn’t go unnoticed. At twelve, before Beatrice even knew what her sexual orientation was, her parents started to tell her that homosexuality was a sin. They made sure that she knew it was wrong. She listened._ _

__At fourteen, Beatrice knew that she was gay and she was _terrified _. That’s when hiding became easy. It was much easier to ignore that side of her than confront it. She suppressed every possible emotion and she even learned how to control her blushing around girls. She threw herself into her studies. Beatrice knew that Lilith noticed the change and thought it was strange. It wasn’t that Beatrice wasn’t studious, she always maintained good grades, it was more that she never seemed to actually care about school. But Lilith didn’t say anything, not at first. Then Beatrice ran for student council president, something the old Beatrice would never do. The old Beatrice thought student council was stupid, something only the popular kids did. Lilith had asked her why she did it and Beatrice simply said,___ _

____“I thought it could be good for me.” The real reason was to hide in plain sight. If you make yourself known to everyone, they think they know you. They don’t look for anything under the surface. Lilith didn’t say anything, though she knew that Beatrice was lying._ _ _ _

____Beatrice didn’t stop there though. She became the school’s top athlete, she was better at hurdles than she had told Ava, and she participated in most club activities. Soon Beatrice was everywhere and nowhere at the same time._ _ _ _

____She was completely hidden._ _ _ _

____So how, after being this way for so long, was she supposed to suddenly change? Was she supposed to come out? No, that was too much for right now. Should she talk to Ava? No,that was also too much for right now. Beatrice thought for a moment. Start small right? What if she quit one of the many clubs she was a part of? There were a few that she didn’t care for and it would certainly ease her academic load. Her parents might be mad that she wasn’t as involved as normal, but she was an adult at university now. She could do what she wanted… right? Beatrice sighed. She’d deal with her parents later. For now, she would quit the Math Club. She hated that club. Beatrice rolled over and finally got some sleep._ _ _ _

____XXX_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Ava wasn’t sure how long she had been on the roof._ _ _ _

____She had found the spot shortly after starting school at Araela University. Still unused to the large campus, she had been trying to find her way back to her dorm when she spotted the old trellis. It was out of the way and it had clearly been neglected for many years. The vine growing on it looked half dead, though it was still trying to climb up the rungs. Curious, Ava gave the trellis a shake. It was sturdy enough. She looked around to make sure that no one was near her. Ava wasn’t sure that the professors would approve of her climbing this thing, but she mostly wanted to make sure that no one was around to see her fall on her ass if the trellis suddenly broke. Luckily, no one was around. She put a foot on the planter and gave it one last shake for good before climbing the makeshift ladder to the roof._ _ _ _

____The roof was… underwhelming, to say the least. She couldn’t see shit, but she was certainly surrounded by it. Bird poop covered most of the space. There seemed to be one corner that they left untouched, which seemed odd. Picky birds? Ava just shrugged before looking around again. There was an old shoe that looked like it had been through hell. On the space behind it, there was a faint engraving of the letters “OCS.” Ava wondered what it meant. Maybe it was an acronym?_ _ _ _

____“O.C.S.” She said out loud, thinking for a moment before she thought of something “Old Crusty Shoe!” Ava doubted that’s actually what the letters meant, but she thought it was funny regardless._ _ _ _

____“Hah.” She crossed her arms and looked at nothing in particular “Old Crusty Shoe, that’s a good one, Ava.” She laughed at her joke one more time before looking around again. The spot on the roof wasn’t great, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was the only one who knew about it. It was her spot._ _ _ _

____So it wasn’t a surprise that she found herself up there after Beatrice had gone to bed. (Okay, but damn did Beatrice take a long ass time to fall asleep.)_ _ _ _

____She pulled her knees to her chest and looked at the Old Crusty Shoe, not the nicest scenery, but it was calming nonetheless. The party had only been a few hours ago, but it felt like a distant memory. Ava wasn’t sure how she felt. She knew that she had been scared. Then she was laughing because Beatrice had saved her and everything was okay, but then she was scared again because she realized the depth of what had almost happened, and then she was okay again because Beatrice had saved her. Ava could still feel Beatrice’s hands on her, holding her tightly. She could still hear her voice, gently whispering that everything would be alright. Ava smiled, her cheeks turned pink as she thought about Beatrice._ _ _ _

____“AHH” Ava slapped herself “I can’t do this O.C.S!” The Old Crusty Shoe just stared back at her. Of course it did. It was a shoe._ _ _ _

____“I can’t like Beatrice, not like this.” Once again, the shoe was silent. “It’s not a problem that she’s a girl, I’ve known that I like girls since, like, middle school. Puberty, you know?” The shoe didn’t know about puberty. “Anyway, I knew that I had a crush on Beatrice, but crushes are okay. I have crushes on people all the time!” Ava looked at the shoe like it should understand. “This is different. This is scary, O.C.S.” Ava hugged herself tighter. “I think I really like her. Like more than a crush. Maybe.” Ava stood up and started pacing back and forth._ _ _ _

____“It’s just, I don’t know, she’s different than the other people I’ve liked.” Ava smiled. “She’s beautiful. And she really listens to me, I can tell, which is crazy since I talk about nonsense most of the time.” Ava looked at the shoe again. “O.C.S, She’s perfect. She’s smart and nice and did I mention that she’s really pretty?” Ava sat back down next to the shoe. “She protects me too, you know. Not just at the party. I’ve noticed the way people here look at me. They don’t think I belong. Everytime someone whispers about me or stares, Beatrice stands in front of me and gives them a look. It’s not necessarily a mean look, but it’s scary. She doesn’t think I notice, but I do.” Ava sighed. “I notice everything.” Ava looked at the sky, it wasn’t filled with stars, but she could make out a few constellations. “I know that she’s got some stuff to deal with. I don’t know exactly what, but I can tell that she’s fighting some sort of battle.” Ava sighed again. “See what I mean, O.C.S? I think I may have fallen for Beatrice.” Ava stood up and looked at the shoe one more time before walking towards the spot where the trellis leaned against the wall._ _ _ _

____“Thanks for the talk buddy. It’s always a pleasure.” Ava gave a goofy bow before climbing down the ladder._ _ _ _

____The Old Crusty Shoe wished her luck. Even a shoe knows a hopeless gay when it sees one._ _ _ _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith is the mean track captain, Beatrice gets attacked, and Ava may or may not jump off a roof to save her girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update took so long! I've been busy with finals, but here's the last chapter! If you've stuck around this long, thank you so much! I hope you all like it.

Beatrice had quit the math club. It was a small achievement, but she still felt as though she had taken a big step. She had freed up an hour of her time, time that could be spent doing whatever she pleased, but more importantly, it was her first time doing something for herself. She smiled, today was going to be a good day. Beatrice fiddled with the strap of her bag as she walked, wondering what she should spend her first free hour doing. Coffee, she decided, was what sounded best at the moment. She walked slowly to the coffee shop on campus, taking her time to look at the old buildings and the flowers that grew along the sidewalk. She wondered if Ava liked flowers, maybe she should bring her one. She could picture Ava’s face upon receiving the gift, she’d smile and laugh and act like it was the best gift she had ever been given. Ava liked the little things in life. Beatrice bent down and picked up one of the small flowers and tucked it into her shirt pocket before continuing her walk to the coffee shop.

XXX

Ava had never run like this before. Practice had ended, but the team captain, an upperclassman that Ava recognized as being one of Beatrice’s friends, insisted on keeping Ava after to do an extra workout. She claimed that Ava could do better than she was doing and smiled haughtily before saying: “unless you don’t think you can handle more practice?” Ava huffed. She could do whatever that tall, gray haired, pompous girl could do. The whistle sounded and Ava took off again. The captain frowned from the sidelines. Fine, Ava thought, she’d show her just how fast she could be. 

XXX

After getting her coffee, Beatrice decided to walk around rather than sit and read like she normally would. It felt like a small act of rebellion: walking aimlessly instead of furthering her knowledge on the Age of Exploration or whatever book she had in her bag at the moment. It was a surprise when she found herself at the track. It was an even bigger surprise when she realized that the lone runner was Ava. Lilith was there too, frowning and shouting furiously at Ava to pick up her pace. It was a funny sight, really. Ava out of breath and frustrated, but still giving it her all to piss off Lilith and Lilith, slowly realizing that Ava wasn’t one to give up so easily. The two of them were a funny pair. Ava crossed the finish line, put her hands on her knees, and glared at Lilith. Lilith waved her hands and pointed to the track, no doubt making her run another 400 meters before letting her go home. Beatrice was familiar with Lilith’s training regime, afterall, it was Beatrice who had helped her make it all those years ago. Ava stuck her tongue out at Lilith before walking back to the start line. Lilith blew the whistle and she took off with what looked like a good pace, though she didn’t seem to accelerate much at all. That is, until the last 200 meters. Beatrice could see a shift in her pace, a sudden quickening of her footsteps, and then all of a sudden Ava was full on sprinting. That’s one powerful kick, Beatrice thought to herself, smiling. Ava crossed the finish and smiled proudly at Lilith, Beatrice couldn’t help but smile with her. Lilith just shook her head and put the stopwatch away, but Beatrice could see the quiet smile that crept on her face as Lilith turned away. Ava seemed to have that effect on people. Beatrice decided to leave before Ava noticed her, she didn’t want to explain to her new friend that she had been wandering and just happened to end up here. Beatrice didn’t want to think about the implications of a statement like that. 

XXX

The mean gray haired lady, who Ava found out was named Lilith, finally let her go. Ava didn’t bother to change out of her t-shirt and shorts, she was exhausted. She walked home quickly, thinking about how nice a shower sounded right now. She hoped that Beatrice was still out, that way she wouldn’t see Ava gross like this. Suddenly, Ava heard a quiet yelp, one that she recognized. She stopped in her tracks. It couldn’t be. A thud and then another one. Ava took off running, too bad Lilith and her stopwatch weren’t timing her now, before she saw Aiden and his goons towering over Beatrice. 

XXX

Five minutes earlier:  
Of course something had to ruin her day. Honestly, Beatrice should’ve expected it. She knew that jerk had been too quiet for a while and now here she was, cornered by him and two of his friends in an alley where no one would find her. Good going, Bea, she thought to herself, so much for that superior intellect you supposedly have.

“What do you want Aiden?” Beatrice asked. She didn’t want to fight him, but she would if she had to. 

“Just teaching you a lesson” He shrugged “People like you shouldn’t mess with people like me.” Beatrice rolled her eyes.

“You know what, Aiden? You’re right.” Beatrice said smiling “People like me, those of us who actually have brain cells, really shouldn’t be messing with a dumbass like you. You’re not worth it.” Aiden frowned and threw a punch. It was so predictable that Beatrice almost laughed. She stepped aside easily before using his momentum to shove him into the wall. He stood up quickly and threw another punch, but Beatrice was faster. She grabbed his arm and twisted it, driving him to the ground. His friends, having shaken off their surprise that someone “like Beatrice” was so strong, leapt forward. She dealt with them as easily as she had dealt with their leader, but something about this felt off. Aiden was stupid, but he was also scared. She could tell that he was scared of her ever since the party. He wouldn’t have brought just two friends. She realized this too late. 

Someone grabbed her from behind. She wasn’t fast enough to get out of their grip and it cost her. Two heavy punches, one from Aiden and another from one of his friends, came quickly. She fell to the ground as they circled her, a triumphant smile on Aiden’s face. 

“AHHHHHH” 

Beatrice looked up, confused as to who could be screaming and saw Ava on the roof. She would’ve laughed if Ava’s face hadn’t looked so fierce. She was angry, angrier than Beatrice had ever seen her. Before Aiden and his friends could recover, Ava threw what looked like an old crusty shoe at one of them with all her strength. It hit one guy straight in the head and he fell down, dazed. Then, she did something only Ava would do, she jumped off the roof. 

XXX

Ava wasn’t planning to jump off the roof. 

O.C.S had hit one of the guys straight in the head, bless that shoe and it’s crustiness, but after Ava had thrown the shoe she realized that she had no idea what she was going to do next. The logical thing would be to quickly climb down and attempt to fight them, but Ava had never been one to think logically, so she skipped the climbing down part and jumped. Luckily, Aiden was closest to the building and she landed on him. She rolled off, a little bruised but otherwise fine, and kicked him in the stomach for good measure. His friends stared at her in shock.

“What? You look like you’ve never seen someone heroically jump off a roof to save their best friend before.” Ava thought for a moment “Oh, well… maybe that isn’t quite as common as I made it seem.” Suddenly, one of the men lunged towards Ava. She rolled out of the way just in time before turning around to face them again. There were two left. Ava had never been much of a fighter, she had always preferred to run (hence choosing track as a sport), but she’d fight for Beatrice if she had to. She owed her friend that much. The two lunged towards her again, but one tripped over the shoe and fell on his face. Ava laughed. 

“That’s probably not what you meant to do, huh?” The other one threw a punch at her. “Oh shit!” Ava shouted as she dodged the punch. “You know, I was always pretty good at boxing on the Wii. You probably didn’t play, your punches are awful!” Ava said as she jumped about, narrowly dodging each of his hits. At some point during her sarcastic commentary, Ava realized that she probably needed to actually hit this guy if she were to win this fight. She also realized, around this time, that she had no idea how to actually punch someone. 

But Ava wasn’t one to dwell on the things she didn’t know how to do. 

Before her opponent could strike again, Ava kicked him right in between his legs. She might not be confident in punching people, but she sure as hell could kick. 

“Hah! Take that sucker!” Ava shouted triumphantly. Her victory dance was cut short by Beatrice’s groan.

“Bea!” Ava said, running to her side “Are you alright?” Ava helped Beatrice sit up.

“You jumped off a roof.” Beatrice said, smiling “You actually jumped off a roof to save me.”

“Of course I did.” Ava made it seem like jumping off a roof to save your friend was the most natural thing to do. 

“You’re insane,” Beatrice said, laughing. 

“Maybe.” Ava’s smile faltered “I was worried about you.” She grabbed Beatrice’s hand, running her thumb up and down her roommate’s hand. “You didn’t get up and there were so many of them around you.” She looked down, “I didn’t know what to do.”

“Ava.” Beatrice said softly. “Ava, look at me.” Beatrice put a hand on Ava’s cheek, gently guiding her face up. “Thank you. You saved me.” 

“You saved me first.” 

“Then I guess we’re even.” Beatrice looked at Ava’s lips, then back up at Ava’s eyes. They were so close, Beatrice panicked, too close. Beatrice gently pulled away and hoped that Ava hadn’t noticed anything off. Ava helped her stand up. 

“Oh.” Beatrice said, “I almost forgot.” Beatrice pulled the flower she had picked out of her shirt pocket. “I picked this for you earlier, though it’s all crushed now.” Beatrice couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. The flower was ruined. 

“Woah!” Ava smiled, grabbing the flower from Beatrice. She held it up, “I love it! It looks so cool crushed like this, I’m gonna put it on my desk. You know, next to the origami crane you made me.” 

Beatrice laughed. First, Ava threw a crusty shoe at her attacker. Then she jumped off a roof and landed on another of her attackers, only to jump around and make sarcastic comments at the last one before finally kicking him. And now she was excited over a tiny crushed flower Beatrice had picked her? This girl was something else. 

“What? What are you laughing at?” Ava asked, clearly confused. 

“Nothing, nothing.” Beatrice said, still laughing. “You’re just cute is all.” Ava’s eyes widened and her face flushed pink. 

“C-cute?” She stammered “You think I’m cute?” 

At any other moment, Beatrice probably would’ve panicked and taken back her words, but she was feeling bold. Maybe it was time to take another step.

“Yes,” Beatrice smiled “I think you’re cute.” 

Ava grinned widely and Beatrice found herself smiling too. One step at a time. 

“You stink by the way.” Beatrice teased before walking out of the alley. Ava turned bright red.

“Hey! It’s not my fault your friend is the spawn of satan!” Ava shouted back.

“Lilith’s actually Satan’s wife.” 

“Oh shut up, you know that’s not what I meant.” 

The two of them walked towards their dorm, bickering and laughing. If shoes could smile, the old, crusty shoe would have smiled, but because the shoe was just a shoe, it sat, proudly thinking about the two as they walked on. 

Bonus:

“I FOUND IT” someone shouted, racing towards the lone shoe in the alley. Camila bent down and picked up the shoe. “It certainly looks like it’s been through some intense stuff though.” She said holding it at a distance from herself. Mary, embarrassed that she had lost her shoe and allowed it to get so crusty, quickly grabbed it from Camila. She took another look at it.

“Jesus. You’re right, Cam.” Mary said, also keeping the shoe at a distance, “It looks awful.”

Camila, being the sweet girl she was, said “no! Don’t be mean to the shoe, you’re the one who lost it.” She took the shoe back from Mary, “Don’t worry shoe, we’ll wash you and you’ll be as good as new.” Camila frowned upon taking a closer look.

“Mary…” Camila said, eyes wide, “Is this blood?” 

“Blood? Let me see that.” Mary grabbed the shoe back. “Holy shit, that is blood.”

“Who did you kick???” Camila asked.

“No one!” Mary said. Camila stared at her in disbelief. “I’m serious! I would remember kicking someone enough for them to bleed.” 

“Well shoes don’t just kick people on their own!!” Camila said, bewildered.

"I don't know what happened, but I know I didn't kick anyone!" 

"Uh huh." Camila said, clearly not believing Mary "Well, I'll help you clean your shoe, but you better tell me what happened after!"

The shoe was happy, it would finally get a bath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me making the shoe a character lmaooo

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it! If you want to follow me on twitter! I'm @pureleafteaa and I'd love to talk about warrior nun or whatever with you guys. I also post art, lately it's essentially been all warrior nun, but sometimes I post art from other fandoms as well :)


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